Translated from Chinese
"Ming" class submarines for China's self-developed the first generation of conventionally-powered submarine torpedo attack. It was my main naval submarine force. Although conventional Ming-class submarines have been improvements, but still has lagged behind its combat power. According to the article Here, the North Sea Fleet submarine force and new equipment has been fitted out in November last year, may be the new 039B-class submarines.

Yemen portends a major humiliation for Saudi Arabia. Its bold ambition to assemble a new coalition Sunni army that would confront Iranian influence across the region has stumbled badly. It suffered early and unexpected defections by Pakistan and Turkey, and a distinct lack of enthusiasm on the part of Egypt (which demanded a huge fee in order to participate), Iraq (whose PM criticized the venture roundly) and Jordan. Worse, Saudis more recently have come to suspect UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of conspiring with Ali Saleh behind their backs to fix a political solution in the Saleh interest. (Recall that bin Zayed reportedly conspired with Tuwaijri, King Abdullah's closest aide, to have King Salman passed over in the succession to the throne).

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed sonars for Indian Navy and transferred technology to Indian Industries for manufacture and supply to Indian Navy. M/s Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has exported three Hull Mounted Sonars to Myanmar based on the technology developed by DRDO.

Number of countries have shown their initial interest to acquire DRDO developed sonar systems. Some of the other DRDO developed products / systems, like radars, electronic warfare systems, AEW&C systems, bridging systems, missiles, torpedoes, decoys & fire control systems, etc. can be considered for export to our friendly countries.

This information was given by Defence MinisterShri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri AayanurManjunathain Rajya Sabha today.

April 29, 2015

The Air Force’s secret robot space plane is going to try out a new engine. The X-37B has so far spent a total of 1367 days tooling around in Earth’s orbit, doing classified things. Yesterday, the Air Force Research Lab announced that on its fourth flight, the X-37B will come with a new fuel-efficient engine for maneuvering in space.

Hall thrusters were developed first by the Soviet Union during the 1960s, as a way for satellites to correct their course while in orbit. Apparently the engines were so effective the United States didn’t believe they were real at first. Now, Hall thrusters are commonly used on satellites and deep-space probes. They’re a kind of ion engine, which means the Air Force’s secret space robot will soon have an engine similar to that used by Darth Vader in his specialty Twin Ion Engine (TIE) Fighter.

Hall thrusters get their name from the Hall effect, where an electrical field is produced perpendicular to a magnetic field. Set up in an engine, this electric field accelerates ions from a noble gas like xenon, propelling it outwards fast enough that they can provide thrust for the vehicle.Putting an engine like this on a secret space plane means that the Air Force, which includes space in their mandate, will learn how to maneuver unmanned vehicles efficiently outside the Earth’s atmosphere. That’s essential for any future space fighters that may come to be, but I wouldn’t count on the Air Force developing actual TIE fighters just yet.

Three photographs of the “Ustad Yasir” camp were obtained by journalist Saleem Mehsud and published on his Twitter account on April 18. The images were emailed to the Pakistani reporter.Fourteen Islamic State fighters are shown in formation in two of the photos. The other image shows a pickup truck with a heavy machine gun mounted on the back moving through a creek.

The Ustad Yasir camp is run by the Sa’ad bin Abi Waqas Front and it is located in Logar province in eastern Afghanistan. The group was named after Sa’ad bin Abi Waqas, an al Qaeda emir in Kunar province who was killed by the US military in an airstrike on April 14, 2011. [See LWJ report, Al Qaeda’s commander for Kunar, several operatives killed in airstrike.]

The Sa’ad bin Abi Waqas Front is led by Sa’ad Emarati, a former commander in the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan who defected to the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province last year along with other disaffected Taliban commanders from Afghanistan and Iraq.

The name of the camp provides further evidence that the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province, which is situated in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is comprised of Taliban and other jihadist groups who have been marginalized by or are unhappy with the existing leaders of the Taliban on both sides of the border.

Ustad Yasir was one of 26 senior and mid-level Taliban leaders who were killed in a Taliban purge in 2012. Prior to being gunned down, he had served as the head of the Taliban’s Recruitment Council and was a key ideologue for the jihadist group.

The Russian space agency Roscosmos is scrambling to regain control of a robotic Progress 59 cargo ship that appears to have suffered a serious malfunction shortly after launching into orbit early today (April 28).

Video from the Progress 59 spacecraft showed it in a dizzying spin, with the Earth and sun rapidly coming into and then out of frame. Russian flight controllers abandoned plans to attempt to dock the cargo ship with the International Space Station on Thursday (April 30), NASA spokesman Rob Navias said in a NASA TV update. That docking — originally scheduled for this morning, then pushed to Thursday — is now "indefinitely postponed," Navias said.

The problems began shortly after Progress 59 launched into space atop a Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Liftoff occurred at 3:09 a.m. EDT (0709 GMT), with the cargo ship packed with just over 3 tons of food, fuel and other supplies.

DARPA’s Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program, which developed a self-steering bullet to increase hit rates for difficult, long-distance shots, completed in February its most successful round of live-fire tests to date. An experienced shooter using the technology demonstration system repeatedly hit moving and evading targets. Additionally, a novice shooter using the system for the first time hit a moving target.

This video shows EXACTO rounds maneuvering in flight to hit targets that are moving and accelerating. EXACTO’s specially designed ammunition and real-time optical guidance system help track and direct projectiles to their targets by compensating for weather, wind, target movement and other factors that can impede successful hits.

April 28, 2015

Streets in downtown HCM City were closed as part of strict security measures on April 26, for the dress rehearsal of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the liberation of the south and national reunification.

The event will be officially held on the morning of Thursday, April 30.
The rehearsal included a military parade involving nearly 6,000 soldiers, militia, and civilians. Some leaders of the country, HCM City, military, and other sectors were present to preview the ceremony.
Music and dance performances were followed by a flag-hoisting ceremony, accompanied by the singing of the national anthem. There were marchers from 38 army and civilian units, including the ground force, air force, navy, commandos, marines, people's police, mobile police and others.
Prior to the parade of the blocks, military flags of the five armies that attacked to liberate the city on April 30, 1975, were raised.

The parade began at the Sai Gon Zoo and Botanical Garden and passed through Le Duan Street to the Reunification Palace where it split into two, with one group turning left for Ton Duc Thang Street and the other turning right for Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, en route to Hoa Lu Stadium.
Top leaders of the Communist Party and the country, as well as city chiefs, international guests and 100 Vietnamese people from overseas, are expected to attend the parade.
The dress rehearsal, which was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Minister of National Defence General Phung Quang Thanh, and other high-ranking officials, was conducted by Lieutenant General Nguyen Quoc Khanh, who is the deputy chief of general staff of the Viet Nam People's Army.

Traffic congestion surrounding the blocked area was not reported to be as serious as that on Friday, April 24, as it was held on a Sunday when government offices, schools, and offices have a holiday.
According to the National Organising Committee for the Commemoration of Major Anniversaries in 2014-2015, the official ceremony will be broadcast live on Viet Nam Television, Radio Voice of Viet Nam and all provincial TV stations.

The organisers have also affirmed that on Thursday, April 30, the day of the official ceremony, security will be further tightened in the vicinity of the commemoration.
In addition, more than 600 local and international journalists are expected to attend the official event.
On the night of April 30, following the music performance that will be conducted by more than 4,400 artists, including nearly all city-based musicians, a 15-minute fireworks display will be held at Bitexco Financial Tower in HCM City's District 1 and at seven other locations across the city.